Honey Quince Filo Custard Slab

Ingredients

Quince

• 2 medium quinces (about 1 lb / 450 g), peeled, cored and diced ½ inch
• 2 cups water
• ¼ cup (50 g) granulated sugar
• 1 tbsp lemon juice

Custard and pastry

• 3 cups whole milk
• ½ cup (85 g) fine semolina
• ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• ¼ tsp fine salt
• 12 sheets thawed filo pastry, about 9 by 14 inches
• 6 tbsp unsalted butter, melted

Syrup

• ⅓ cup honey
• ⅓ cup water
• 1 tbsp lemon juice

Equipment

9-by-13-inch baking dish, saucepan, pastry brush, instant-read thermometer

Allergens and ingredient notes: Wheat, milk, egg.

Step by step

1. Simmer quince with its water, sugar and lemon juice 30–45 minutes until easily pierced. Drain thoroughly and cool; reserve no poaching liquid for this recipe. Heat oven to 350°F (175°C).
2. Bring milk to a gentle simmer, whisk in semolina and custard sugar and cook 4–5 minutes, whisking, until thick. Remove from heat 5 minutes. Beat eggs with vanilla and salt in a bowl; gradually whisk in ½ cup warm semolina mixture, then stir it all back into the pan. Fold in drained quince.
3. Brush baking dish with some melted butter. Layer six filo sheets into dish, brushing each with butter and allowing edges to rise slightly. Spread all custard evenly. Top with remaining six sheets, buttering each. Tuck edges in and score top layers into twelve squares without cutting down through filling.
4. Bake 40–50 minutes until golden and filling at center reaches 165°F (74°C). Meanwhile simmer syrup honey, water and lemon juice 3 minutes, then cool. Drizzle all cooled syrup slowly over hot baked pastry. Cool at least 1 hour before slicing through the scored squares.

The Devotti twist: Tender quince is baked inside a semolina custard rather than served as a jam, giving a fragrant fruit bite beneath shattering filo.

Make ahead and storage

Refrigerate within 2 hours, covered, up to 3 days. Rewarm uncovered at 325°F (165°C) for 12–15 minutes.